Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1887-01-29

to Miss Rose Baughan's excellent work,
quoted above, to which I am indebted tcI
these examples.
Ed. HERON ALLEN.
HIT HIM HARD,
Solilsquy Of an Old Campaigner Over
Clusters Last Rally"
A day or two ago st. Paul Ponce,
Press reporter was sitting in front OF
Mulvany's painting, Clusters Last
Rally" when bronzed and grizzled
cavalryman came in and took q chair
next to him. For fully fifteen minutes
the soldiers consciousness held naught
but the painting, aud when in answer to
the question, "How does that strike
your" he turned to the querest, his eyes
were misty and he gulped little before
he regained his grip on q voice which
usually had nothing to complain of in
forcefullness. 'It strikes me hard, " said
he, almost roughly, 80 deep was he
moved. 81 wasn't there, of course, with
grim SMILEY but I can come pretty
near knowing how those felt. Fear
Not much. Do they look scared? I'll
swear the pictures true to life, and those
Seventh fellows looked just like that
along their carbine barrels and at the
particular red hound they'd picked to
make a As caliber hole in. See that
corporal to Clusters right, aiming over
his PROSTATE horse and at that Sioux
shaking his lance yonder. He's struck
the position laid down for 3OO-yard
range, and is sitting on his spur. But
he don't think of that tribe, nor much
about that bullet which has just gone
trough his biceps. He's busy now get
ting even, and when he's fred he'll take
more interest in how many cartridges he
has left than in his wound or bis chances
of living to use those cartridges up. Then
there's that fellow kneeling behind Yates
body. H. don't seem to be nervous
much, ehY It the particular Sioux he
has his eye on, while he loads, knows
what's healthy, nell drop on the other
side of his pony and ride for the river.
No, sir; their time for being scared is
passed. Sure they'll die?
"Well, maybe not. It's awful hard to
convince soldier used to fighting that
the games up so long as he has his gun
in his hand and ammunition in his belt
OF course they've got sense and know
that it's thousand to one against them.
But there's that one. It may be Reno
or Terry, or something to make little
diversion. Not likely they know what
horde of the Sioux devils there are
They've fought 'em before, those lads,
and they savoy that Indians. by riding
around through the dust and smoke and
yelling like madmen, can make hun
bred seem like thousand warriors.
For all that, before those forty Todd got
on to that knoll and made breastworks of
horse carcasses, there was many q fare
well message given with the "H you get
through it. old man." Some of them's
wounded; likely most of them have been
hit, but unless it's mortal, and even then
men can stand an awful lot
of blood letting without lying down
when there's sacrifice fighting to be
done. Once they get to work'again
there's such terrible interest. Look at
Cook kneeling there with bloody hand
kerchief round his head and one hand
on the ground to steady himself. I'll
lay my life he'd rather kill the breech-
,louted devil bis revolver is pointed at
han be sure that Terry's whole COM
mand was just beyond the smoke back
here. He's like the others. They're
IN killing humor.
"Custer's face, you'll notice, is the
'sddest in the posse. He knows better
han any one else that the jig's up, and
Ne feels the responsibility of other
leath's on him. He feels deserted too,
and so terribly disappointed. I hardly
think it's likely he nonkeyed much with
! saber. Maybe he held onto it me-
though. He was always
ond of the weapon. I'm one of those
Who believe that if the horses had been
resher, and the whole command armed
With sabres more'n half of them could
nave charged through alive. Like
enough, though, they hoped they could
vim until it was too late to charge.
There's always these "ifs'' in every mas
acre or fair fight for that matter, and
hough we can't help guessing, it don't
mount to anything. Those fellows are
My about ten minutes for this world.
You notice there isn't much ammunition
eft, but I reckon every man saved one
evolver cartridge for use at the closest
arget possible himself. Not likely
my of them had to shoot themselves,
,ut some did, and every individual one
new he'd better do it than be taken
live. Lord, what thing it would have
,een to have come through that fight
md have escaped. An experience like
hat would be more wonderful than be-
ng buried alive and unearthed before
leath came. It riles me to think those
,ery Sioux, some of them, are eating
United States grub now, shaking hands
With white peopIe and saving How